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<blockquote data-quote="Wombat" data-source="post: 1139078" data-attributes="member: 8447">Over the years I have found myself improvising, both by choice and by necessity, a great number of times.One time it was a case of the characters getting so interested in one side issue that they spent the whole night on essentially 1 sentence in my game outline; another time it was a case of having a player spy an interesting plot hole, dive into it, and me catching up.&nbsp; Other times I have specifically &quot;winged it&quot; just to see what would happen.Couple of suggestions.1)&nbsp; Keep notepaper handy.&nbsp; As you make up names of people and places, write them down so you will have them for later.2)&nbsp; Along the same line, come up with a list of possible names so that you can put them together on the fly.&nbsp; This way not every single tavern is The Hungry Hog and not every person is Bort, son of Gerd.3)&nbsp; Allow a LOT of player input -- if they determine that they frequent a given tavern for a given reason, allow that.&nbsp; If they say that Sunwine is the best vintage around, bingo.&nbsp; Since both sides are improvising, both sides can add to the world.4)&nbsp; Keep some &quot;standard stats&quot; on hand, in case of brawls.&nbsp; Have pages like &quot;Joe Peasant&quot;, &quot;Orc Ruffian&quot; and the like so that you don't have to work out a stat block in your head on short notice.5)&nbsp; Feel free to ignore rules and make up rules on the fly, but be FAIR about this.&nbsp; When running improv it is quite likely that a lot of material will be concieved on the spot; if the players sense you are either favouring them or your own design, they will grouse loud and often.&nbsp; 6)&nbsp; Be up front to your players if the improv is going to be a long-running campaign style.&nbsp; That way they will know that they can add to the fun.Just a few notions off the top of my head...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wombat, post: 1139078, member: 8447"] Over the years I have found myself improvising, both by choice and by necessity, a great number of times. One time it was a case of the characters getting so interested in one side issue that they spent the whole night on essentially 1 sentence in my game outline; another time it was a case of having a player spy an interesting plot hole, dive into it, and me catching up. Other times I have specifically "winged it" just to see what would happen. Couple of suggestions. 1) Keep notepaper handy. As you make up names of people and places, write them down so you will have them for later. 2) Along the same line, come up with a list of possible names so that you can put them together on the fly. This way not every single tavern is The Hungry Hog and not every person is Bort, son of Gerd. 3) Allow a LOT of player input -- if they determine that they frequent a given tavern for a given reason, allow that. If they say that Sunwine is the best vintage around, bingo. Since both sides are improvising, both sides can add to the world. 4) Keep some "standard stats" on hand, in case of brawls. Have pages like "Joe Peasant", "Orc Ruffian" and the like so that you don't have to work out a stat block in your head on short notice. 5) Feel free to ignore rules and make up rules on the fly, but be [I]FAIR[/I] about this. When running improv it is quite likely that a lot of material will be concieved on the spot; if the players sense you are either favouring them or your own design, they will grouse loud and often. 6) Be up front to your players if the improv is going to be a long-running campaign style. That way they will know that they can add to the fun. Just a few notions off the top of my head... [/QUOTE]

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